I'm looking at Shapeways and I'm thinking, it's great that you can make these tiny, intricate, detailed objects. But why is there no viable option for "lower detail, larger size?" I would love to see a 3d printing option that can handle big objects (even if at lower resolution) at a price that isn't in the stratosphere - some sort of option where prices are below 50 cents per cubic centimeter and physically large objects are not cost-prohibitive. This is one of Shapeways' weakest points, IMO. You can't affordably make anything larger than a few cubic inches. I'd like to suggest that it wouldn't be a bad idea for Shapeways to branch out into, say, larger-scale subtractive 3d printing with cheap materials like wood and foam.
Wood was being looked at as an option recently. As far as large scale 3D printing. the material and machines are meant for small objects. I did see about one for printing large sculptures or something like that. I've been thinking an automated brick layer would be awesome. Same concept, larger building material.
I've seen articles about an automated brick layer...an old industrial robot. And, someone is printing concrete for architectural purposes. where there's a will(and money) people will find a way
See also http://www.candyfab.org/ for a technique of quite large-scale but very low-resolution printing, and the material itself is very cheap.
I saw a concept for a 3d house printer robot. it would lay down 6 inch thick walls of concrete 1 foot high in the shape of the house, and then it would climb up on top of it and build the next layer. pretty neat IMO. I imagine it isnt that easy to have low-cost, large-scale models. besides the obvious machine size limit, materials are expensive. And some materials may not work in the printers. So new machines are also expensive. And, remember, besides being yor friend, Shapeways is also a business.